Mark’s blog…

It’s not everyday that royalty drops into Rathfinny, but this week Her Royal Highness Princess Anne came to officially open our new winery buildings: The ‘Cellar’, which will store all our wine whilst it matures in the bottle ‘on-lees’ and the ‘Bottling’ centre that will house all our bottling, riddling, disgorging, labelling and packaging equipment.

It was a terrific occasion and really marked the end on all the construction work that has been taking place at Rathfinny over the last five years.

Princess Anne was superb, she spent so much time with everyone, was interested in the operation, the hurdles and opportunities we have faced in setting up the business and although it was a flying visit, she arrived by helicopter and was only on site for just over an hour and twenty minutes, she engaged with all those involved in the business and those what have helped design and build these buildings.

The Princess Royal is a real credit to the institution and I’m sure that the local school children from Alfriston who came up to welcome her will, like the rest of us, never forget this day…

We’ve been posting photos of the event on Social Media if you’re not following us then search for @RathfinnyEstate on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

HRH Princess Anne
HRH Princess Anne being shown the Winery
Alfriston kids
Children from Alfriston Primary school greeting HRH Princess Anne
HRH Princess Anne
HRH Princess Anne receiving a posy from Megan Burt-Hospitality Apprentice
HRH Princess Anne
HRH Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, opens new bottling centre at Rathfinny Wine Estate, one of the final pieces in the production jigsaw at one of Britain’s newest vineyards and will help it produce up to 80,000 cases of wine a year. HRH Princess Anne unveiled a plaque to officially open the building.